Rock wool blow chamber



Sept., 6, 1938. A. F. MlLLER ROCK WOOL BLOW CHAMBER Filed Jan. 25, 193'7 Va/Wim Patented Sept. 6, 1938 Y 2.129.434 y noon woor. BrowCHAMBER.

Arthur F. Miller, Jackson. Mich., assignor to Marquette CementManufacturing Company, a

corporation of Illinois Application January 25,

6 Claims.

'I'his invention relates to rock wool manufacture and more particularlyto a blow chamber into which the mass of -wool material and shot isblown.

In making rock wool from fused rock wool material, a thin stream of thefused rock is violently disintegrated by a blast of steamer air formingfibers of rock wool and larger so-called shot" particles. 'Ihe shotparticles. being larger and heavier, tend tosettle out more rapidly, and

the present chamber is designed to remove as large a proportion of theseas practicable, and at the same time to produce continuously a uniformmass or mat of fibrous material.

which- Fig. 1 represents a sectional elevation of the blow chamber; Fig.2, a sectional plan view taken along the line 2-2 in Fig. l; and Fig. 3,a cross section taken at the .point 3 in Fig. 1.

In producing rock wool, rockv wool material is melted as desired, forexample in the cupola (not shown) and a thin stream of the moltenmaterial from the cupola is blasted by a jet of steam or air formingfibers and shot which enter the chamber at the entrance I 0, as shown inFig. 1. An endless belt I I carried by the driven wheels I2 and I3, ispositioned below theventrance and is of such length as to catch a largeportion of the shot material and any heavy unblown slag. The wheels I2and I3 are so driven as to rotate the belt in the direction shown by thearrow, carrying the heavier material out of the chamber and into thecinder pit I4. A flexible guard I 5 is posi- 35 tioned above the belt torestrict the amount of gas which may leave the chamber around the belt.A similar guard may be provided below the belt, if desired.

The belt II is upwardly inclined to provide a baille and may extend intothe chamber a considerable distance, for example. as much as ten ortwelve feet from the mouth.

Beneath the mouth II) is aplate I 6, downwardly inclined, which extendsout over thelower portion of the belt II and is provided with a downwardextension II upon which the flap I5 is carried. The roof I8 of thechamber is built in several sections to provide a stream-line eil'ectand to avoid, so far as possible, the setting up of undesirable eddiesor currents within the chamber. The first section I9 of the roof extendsfrom the entrance ID to a point 20 roughly above the end of the belt II, the angle of the section I9 being substantially that of the belt. Thedeviation of the plate I6 and of the roof section I9 from the Theinvention is illustrated in the drawing. in

1937, serial No. 122,326

horizontal are approximately equal, although in opposite directions.

The center section 2| of the roof is approximately horizontal and coversapproximately three-sevenths of the conveyor belt 30, which will behereinafter described. The third section 22 of the roof is downwardlyinclined at an angle slightly less than that of section I 9, and coversabout half ofthe remainder of the belt, while section 23v continuesdownward at a greater angle covering the remaining portion of the belt30. y

It will be noticed that this configuration of the roof directs theincoming gases downwardly toward the belt 30 without the provision ofany dead air spaces within which eddies can be set up. With lightmaterial, such as rock wool, any substantial eddy will cause material tobe heldin the air until it has reached considerable weight after whichit will fall regardless of the eddy. Such falls, however, will produceirregularities in the mat upon the belt.

The belt I0, which is to receive the wool bers, is preferably of aforaminous texture and is mounted upon the rollers 3l, 32,' 33, 34 and35, which are driven to rotate the belt in the direc-` v tion of thearrow and carry the wool bers out of the chamber at the opposite endfrom the en-` trance III. Beneath the belt are mounted a plurality ofsuction chambers 3G, each of which is provided with an exhaust 3I. Theexhaust may feed into a manifold or may be individually controlled. Inthe latter case, it is possible tol obtain greater uniformity in theribbon of rock wool prof duced, by progressively increasing the vacuumin the direction of movement of the wool material.

The belt 30 is preferably below the baille belt I I.

The area controlled by each chamber is preferably small, for examplenot-substantially more than four or five feet.

At the exit side of the blow chamber, means are provided for compressingthe mineral wool deposited on the belt 30. This means preferablycomprises a belt 40 on rollers 4I, 42 and 43, the roller 42 having itsaxis below a line connecting the axes of rollers 4I and 43 to provide anout-- wardly curved portion on the lower side of the belt, or, ifdesirable, a fourth roller may be inserted for this purpose.

Inasmuch as the thickness of material on the belt increases toward theexit side of the chamber, it is preferable to progressively increase thevacuum on the suction chambers in the same direction, in order toutilize the depositing surface of the belt to the maximum extent.

Likewise, the shape of the chamber already dewool bers in amountssuiiicient to cause con siderable loss over a long period, and at thesame time the subsequent settling of the material outside constitutes anuisance. In the present design this problem is completely solvedbecause the ribbon of material acts as a lter body'for such finematerial through which all of the outgoing gas must pass.

The side walls I8 of the blow chamber are preferably substantiallyvertical or converge slightly toward the belt, thereby insuring propersettling conditions.

The foregoing detailed description has been given for clearness ofunderstanding only and no unnecessary limitations should be understoodtherefrom, but the appended claims should be construed as broadly aspermissible in view of the prior art. f

I claim:

1. In a rock wool blow chamber; the combination of means for blowingmolten wool rock into a chamber, a foraminous conveyor within thechamber, and a plurality oi' suction means arranged progressively alongthe conveyor and operating therethrough, the suction means being adaptedto produce a progressively higher vacuum in the direction of movement ofthe conveyor.

2. In a rock wool blow chamber; the combination of means for blowingmolten wool rock into the chamber, a foraminous conveyor within thechamber, and means for subjecting the conveyor to progressively highervacuum in the direction of its movement.

3. The method of blowing rock wool, which comprises melting wool rockmaterial, disintegrating a stream of the molten material to produce rockwool bers, directing. the formed fibers into a settling chamber whereinthey are permitted to settle upon a conveyor, and subjecting theconveyor to a progressively increasing vacuum in the direction of itsmovement.

4. In combination with means for producing and blowing molten rock woolmaterial, a chamber havingan opening at one end associated with themeans for blowing the rock wool material, said chamber havingsubstantially vertical side walls, a foraminous conveyor substantiallyof the same width as the chamber longitudinally arranged therein, meansfor exhausting gas through the conveyor, said chamber having a roof, theconveyor and the roof of the chamber being positioned to approach eachother in the direction of movement of the conveyor, said conveyor beingadapted to move in a direction away from the in troduced rock woolmaterial.

5. In combination with means for producing and blowing molten wool rockmaterial to produce rock wool bres and shot; a blow chamber having anentrance and exit, an upwardlyv in clined conveyor near the entrance ofthe chamber adapted to receive shot and move it downwardly from thechamber, asecond conveyor nearer the exit of the chamber than the iirstand positioned below the upper end of the rst conveyor, said chamberhaving substantially vertical side walls, said second conveyor lhavingsubstantially the width of the chamber, and the roof of the conyveyorbeing substantially parallel to the first conveyor throughout its lengthand approaching the second conveyor substantially throughout its length,and means beneath said second conveyor for removing gases from thechamber, said chamber being sealed to prevent escape of gases exceptthrough said second conveyor. y

6. In combination with means for producing and blowing molten rock woolmaterial, a chamber having an opening at one end associated with themeans for blowing the rock wool material, a conveyor longitudinallyarranged within the chamber, means for exhausting gas through theconveyor, said exhausting means being substantially the only escape forgases from the chamber, and the chamber have substantially verticalwalls and a roof gradually approaching the conveyor in the direction ofits movement, and said conveyor being adapted to move in a directionaway from the introduced rock material.

ARTHUR F. MILLER.

